Industry and technology merge for region-wide competition

THE Gladstone Robotics Competition returns this Friday, with students from 12 schools taking on the challenge.

This year's competition will follow a local industry theme and teams will compete on robotics challenge mats created by teachers and industry professionals from Queensland Alumina Limited and Rio Tinto Alcan.

Gladstone Central State School specialist digital technologies teacher Carol Devney said students would be tasked with programming robots to replicate the transport and processing of bauxite into alumina.

Ms Devney said the partnership with local industry fostered an interest in STEM subjects while tapping into "state national government agendas that seek to address skills shortages and declining participation in these subjects”.

She helped mentor Gladstone Central State School's eight teams and said the time investment was "well worth the effort for the outcomes to student learning”.

Ms Devney's students began preparations six weeks ago, attending Code Club for a few hours each week, after school and during lunch times.

"Some students will have never even seen a Lego Mindstorm robot so we start from scratch with a robot build and basic coding,” Ms Devney said.

She said other students who had participated before could lead their own learning and teach their peers.

Friday's event starts at 8.30am at Clinton State School hall and is open to the public.